Winter at Tahquamenon Falls

March 21, 2010 – 1:00 am

Nina posted this video from Upper Falls Tahquamenon Falls State Park - check out her full slideshow. Read all about it on her blog, Black Coffee at Sunrise.

By farlane | Posted in Articles, Attractions, Destinations, Dig Michigan, Hiking & Biking, Media, Michigan, Parks, Recreation & Sports, Television & Internet Video, The Michigan Pages, UP | Comments (0)

Photo Friday: Touch by angela7dreams

March 19, 2010 – 2:45 pm

Touch

This photo is part of the 5 senses garden sculpture at the Children's Gardenat the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids.

If you've never been to the gardens be sure to put it on your places to visit in 2010. Currently you can check out "Butterflies Are Blooming" which is their most popular annual exhibition and the largest temporary tropical butterfly exhibit in the nation. They also feature a fantastic "Summer Concert Series" and allow patrons to bring their own picnic food and non-alcoholic beverages—in non-glass containers—to enjoy during concerts.

From angela7dreams's Flickr profile:

I am an educator, facilitator, artist and community activist. As a co-founder and associate director of LEAP (Land Empowerment Animals People), I encourage people from all walks of life to come together and share their hopes and desires as well as sorrow and despair about the condition of life here on our planet home.

Be sure to check her amazing photo sets from around the world!

By Absolute Michigan | Posted in Artists & Galleries, Arts & Entertainment, Destinations, Dig Michigan, Dig Michigan Features, Festivals, Attractions & Event Calendars, Grand Rapids, Lodging & Travel, Michigan, Museums & Collections, Photo Friday, The Michigan Pages | Comments (0)

Michigan Wild Turkey Hunters Rendezvous and State Calling Championships

March 18, 2010 – 7:35 am

Struttin' by Terry Doyle
Struttin' by Terry Doyle

The Pere Marquette Chapter of the Michigan Wild Turkey Hunters Association will host the 29th Annual Wild Turkey Hunters Rendezvous and State Calling Championships on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at Baldwin High School (map). The doors open at 8 AM and the program begins at 9 with $5 for adults and children 16 and under free. In addition to the Calling Championships, there will be vendor exhibits, raffles & door prizes and calling and hunting clinics.

These turkeys were captured by Terry last week. You can see more wild turkeys in the Absolute Michigan pool and learn more about these game birds which were hunted out of Michigan by 1900 at the link above or from the Michigan DNR's Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) page.

I'm guessing that this guy won't be at the medal podium, but you never know...

By farlane | Posted in Animals, Articles, Dig Michigan, Hunting & Fishing, Michigan, Recreation & Sports | Comments (0)

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Michigan

March 17, 2010 – 8:23 am

Happy to be Irish today by LindaB.
Happy to be Irish today by LindaB.

It's St. Patrick's Day in Michigan and events are happening all around the state. Wear some green today and enjoy some Irish fare in your hometown. If you know of any we missed or would like to add a related event, pub crawl, feast, party etc. please do so in the comments below. Slainté!

St. Patrick's Day Fast Facts: Beyond the Blarney - National Geographic News
St. Patrick's Day marks the Roman Catholic feast day for Ireland's patron saint, who died in the 5th century. St. Patrick (Patricius in Latin) was not born in Ireland, but in Britain.

Many myths surround St. Patrick. One of the best known—and most inaccurate—is that Patrick drove all the snakes from Ireland into the Irish Sea, where the serpents drowned. (Some still say that is why the sea is so rough.) But snakes have never been native to the Emerald Isle. The serpents were likely a metaphor for druidic religions, which steadily disappeared from Ireland in the centuries after St. Patrick planted the seeds of Christianity on the island.

In the United States, it's customary to wear green on St. Patrick's Day. But in Ireland the color was long considered to be unlucky.

Detroit Saint Patrick’s Day Events
The best of the best St. Patty's events in the Detroit area.

Flint Saint Patrick’s Day Celebration
Tuesday, March 17, 11am - 11 pm
Irish Dancing, Food and a whole lotta fun! Visit the website for more details about the celebration!

Bay City St Patricks Day Parade
Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.
The parade starts at Center and Park Avenues and disbands at Center and Water Streets. Marching bands, pipe bands, and floats will march down the street led by the 2010 Parade Marshal, Mrs. Helen Salois.

Enjoy some scenes from St. Patrick's Day Parade Detroit

By Absolute Michigan | Posted in Articles, Arts & Entertainment, Destinations, Dig Michigan, Dig Michigan Features, Festivals, Attractions & Event Calendars, Lodging & Travel, Michigan, The Michigan Pages | Comments (2)

The Toad Survey of 1910, Blanchard's Cricket Frog and the lion of the swamp

March 16, 2010 – 6:17 am

Yes, I'm a toad with a bug on my nose by firechicktick
Yes, I'm a toad with a bug on
my nose by firechicktick

Yesterday on Michigan in Pictures, I featured the Northern Green Frog (Rana clamitans). A scant hour later, I got an email from Laura Bien of the Ann Arbor Chronicle letting me know about her article, In the Archives: The Toad Survey of 1910. Her piece is a delightful ramble through the history and present day of frogs & toads in Ypsilanti. In addition to the survey of 1910, she looks at Michigan's 13 species of anuran (frogs & toads) including:

...Blanchard's Cricket Frog (whose name) honors University of Michigan herpetologist and zoology professor Frank Nelson Blanchard, a onetime student of Museum of Natural History director Alexander Ruthven, who also served as UM president from 1929 to 1951.

Regarded in his time as the nation’s leading snake expert, Blanchard identified several new species – and named one for Ruthven, the king snake Lampropeltis ruthveni. After one collecting trip that netted 457 snakes from Lake Michigan’s Hog Island, near the tip of the lower peninsula, a colleague dubbed Blanchard “The St. Patrick of Hog Island.”

Blanchard died in 1937. He did not name his own frog; naturalist Francis Harper did that when identifying it a decade later. Presumably the naming was a tribute, though the criteria Harper listed as identifiers of the animal included a warty head, a fat snout, and a bulky, mottled underbelly.

Blanchard’s Frog is currently a “species of concern” in Michigan, and the state is especially interested in survey volunteers’ reports of its cricket-like call.

You can learn more about Frank Nelson Blanchard on Wikipedia, explore Michigan's Frogs & Toads at the Michigan DNR and help out with the Michigan Frog & Toad Survey!

By farlane | Posted in Animals, Articles, Community, Dig Michigan, Environment & Environmental Organizations, Michigan, Recreation & Sports, The Michigan Pages | Comments (0)

Google for bikes: Michigan Bike Maps

March 15, 2010 – 6:56 am
My Wheels Are TurningMy Wheels are Turning is a blog from Traverse City. It was created by Gary L. Howe to explore how and why it is we move, and to examine the values that we promote when we make those choices. It’s for walkers, bikers, motor vehicle users and users of other modes of transport.

Grand River - Bike Girl by Andy Tanguay
Grand River - Bike Girl
by Andy Tanguay

In Weekly Chatter: Google gets biking, mile-taxing, People for Bikes, Gary writes: The big news for bicycling this week: Google celebrates the Bicycle route

And, Traverse City is one of the first 150 cities to be included. My first attempt with Google bicycle routes was a little disappointing–it took me several blocks out of my way, similar to the cynical bicyclists perspective. Yet, improvements are coming, and in typical Google fashion they rolled it out in Beta (for more tweaking) and they launched it at the 2010 Bike Summit in Washington, D.C.

I'll break in here with a link to a Google ride from the Mackinac Bridge to Detroit. I tried starting in Copper Harbor but anything north of the Bridge they route to the car ferry in Manitowac (though actually, it looks like a great trip!)

But, let’s remember. It’s all for fun. Even when you're trying to get somewhere. This week People for Bikes was launched in hopes to cover the full gamut of the experience as this PSA expresses…

“If I ride…I will grow a heart so strong, that hospitals will take Tuesdays off…”

By farlane | Posted in Articles, Blogs & Forums, Dig Michigan, Hiking & Biking, Media, Michigan, Recreation & Sports, Technology & Internet Media, Television & Internet Video, The Michigan Pages | Comments (0)

Photo Friday: detoi: paris of the west by b.plus

March 12, 2010 – 7:46 am

detoi: paris of the west

b.plus shoots digital, film, processed, unprocessed, HDR, and anything else he can get his hands on.

His work can be seen in two Flickr accounts. This is from the old one where you can see it bigger in his Explored slideshow and check out other sets including Hometown Glory and Interesting!. His recent work includes urban decay, surrealism and a brighter detroit (slideshow).

Dive into his Flickriver.

By farlane | Posted in Articles, Arts & Entertainment | Comments (0)

When Conan O'Brien Attacks

March 11, 2010 – 10:00 am

I've decided to follow someone at random. She likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs. Sarah Killen, your life is about to change.
~Conan O'Brien

conan-obrien-twitterOn Conan's Twitter page he says "I had a show. Then I had a different show. Now I have a Twitter account." While he boasts a whopping 625,924 Twitter followers, he's only following one. Now Sarah has 24,000 followers (and climbing).

Follow Sara's saga at twitter.com/LovelyButton.

By farlane | Posted in Articles, Blogs & Forums, Dig Michigan, Media, Michigan, Technology & Internet Media, The Michigan Pages | Comments (0)

Great Lakes Ice: A Play in Four Acts

March 10, 2010 – 12:41 pm

A blog I read posted a very cool bike ride to the Apostle Islands that got me thinking about ice on the Great Lakes and its impending demise. Lake Ontario doesn't touch Michigan of course, but here's Great Lakes Ice for your enjoyment.

Power: Lake Huron

Langell Boys I

Langell Boys, frozen in the ice on Saginaw Bay. A series of photos from otisourcat showing the efforts to free her from the ice. Ice has long been a power on the Great Lakes that has locked ships in their harbors (or worse) and even come after those on shore.

Silence: Lake Erie

thru rock

Daryl's photo of the ice on Lake Erie and demonstrates how winter turns our vibrant lakes to beautiful deserts. See more in his winter slideshow. In addition to quieting the waves, ice can provide an opportunity for animals (and crazy people) to get across to places they wouldn't normally be able to. While this guy walked to Canada on purpose, these fishermen went on an impromptu ice ride.

Motion: Lake Michigan

Photographer/videographer Ken Scott assembled some timelapse clips of winter from the shoreline of Lake Michigan. The movement of the water creates some amazing formations like ice bergs, ice volcanoes and things that you can't quite name ... and you haven't really seen a lighthouse until you've seen what ice can do to a Great Lakes Light.

Breakup: Lake Superior

Lake Superior Ice

Jim Sisko, a photographer from the Absolute Michigan pool, does an amazing job of chronicling the ice on Lake Superior. After looking at these, it's a little surprising to see in this NOAA satellite image that the hold of winter is even starting to loosen on Lake Superior.

I hope that the fact you can see the Apostle Islands in that satellite photo is justification enough to send you over to check out the sights and sounds from Marlin Ledin's ride to the Apostle Islands across 150 miles of Lake Superior.

By farlane | Posted in Articles, Arts & Entertainment, Blogs & Forums, Boating, Diving & Beaches, Community, Destinations, Dig Michigan, Environment & Environmental Organizations, Hiking & Biking, Lodging & Travel, Media, Michigan, Photography & Film, Recreation & Sports, Technology & Internet Media, Television & Internet Video, The Michigan Pages | Comments (0)

Can we save our schools in Michigan?

March 9, 2010 – 9:16 am

Gray school1 by wardmac
Gray school1 by wardmac

The Detroit Free Press reports that a group called Save Our Schools Michigan (SOS Michigan) is predicting a bleak future for Michigan schools:

Michigan public schools will lay off thousands of employees and more than 100 districts could be insolvent if the state doesn’t find a way to plug a $400-per-pupil funding shortfall in funding next year.

That assessment comes today from a coalition of education groups that urged the Legislature to resolve what they call a school funding crisis by July 1, the start of a new fiscal year for schools.

Save Our Students (SOS), a coalition of 17 associations that represent school and school officials statewide, released results of a survey of 300 of the state’s 540 school districts that paints a bleak picture of 4,000 additional layoffs statewide next year, school closures and elimination of programs.

The survey indicates 47 school districts could deplete their fund reserves this year, and another 60 to 80 could do so next year...

The Detroit News adds a list of more findings from the survey:

  • 85 percent report class sizes will increase due to staff cuts and closing schools.
  • 83 percent will freeze salaries and benefits for some or all employees.
  • 76 percent plan to combine services with other districts to cut costs.
  • 56 percent will reduce or eliminate extracurricular activities.
  • 53 percent will cancel orders for major capital spending.
  • 46 percent will reduce or eliminate bus transportation for students.

I hate to say it, but Michigan's elected officials have been turning a blind eye to this brewing storm for years. Don't believe me? Here's Jack Lessenberry from 4 years ago:

Someday we may find leaders who have the vision and courage to fix it, but in the meantime, we need to avoid destroying public education in our state.

We still haven't found leaders with the courage to make the hard choices, and Jack's still writing.

By farlane | Posted in Articles, Blogs & Forums, Community, Community & Nonprofit Organizations, Dig Michigan, Government, Media, Michigan, Radio & Podcast, Schools & Education, The Michigan Pages | Comments (0)